Man follows SatNav to cliff edge

A Global Navigation Satellite System provides autonomous geo-spatial positioning with a global coverage. It allows small electronic receivers (like those attached to the dashboards of cars) to determine location in terms of longitude, latitude and altitude.

Robert Jones, who claims he drives for a living, admitted that he trusted the navigation instrument even when it instructed him to turn down a narrow patch that led to a precipice, stopping only when his car hit a fence above the drop.

Mr Jones said, "I rely on my satnav. I couldn't do without it for my job, and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. The sat nav kept insisting the path was a road, even as it was getting narrower and steeper, so I just trusted it. You don't expect to be taken nearly over a cliff."

The incident took place around 11:15 a.m. when Robert Jones was on his way to Todmorden to visit his friend. He was “lucky the car didn't slip all the way over the edge."

While he managed to escape unscratched, it took police nine hours of toiling with heavy machinery to prevent the BMW from falling off the edge.

The sight was quite a spectacle in the village of Gauxholme and attracted a large crowd of locals. One man stated, "It's like something from The Italian Job, but what a waste of police time. It's all very well and good trusting your satnav, but how about trusting your eyes?"

A spokesperson from West Yorkshire Police said, "Officers received a call at 11.18 am on Sunday March 22 reporting that a BMW was hanging off the edge of a cliff off Bacup Road. The driver was a 43-year-old man from Doncaster. Nobody was hurt but when someone nearly drives off a cliff that shows a lack of care which needs to be investigated.”

This is not the first incident which highlights the lack of reliability of SatNav’s technology. Drivers following satellite navigation systems through villages have often been directed onto narrow tracks resulting in traffic congestions and perilous reversing.

Robert Jones now not only faces a hefty bill on the repairs of his BMW but also an appearance before court as he has been arrested for careless driving.